


Atmosphere

by So_u_like_pkmn



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Ahsoka Tano is a Sibling to the Clones, Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, And not irl face masks, But like sci-fi air masks, Cuddling & Snuggling, Everyone Needs A Hug, Face Masks, Falling Out of Trees, Gen, Hallucinations, Happy Ending, Hurt Ahsoka Tano, Hurt/Comfort, I introduce a second plot and then never expand on it again, I put character through trauma and call it writing, Nausea, No Clones die in this story I promise, Or Clones, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Protective Anakin Skywalker, Protectiveness, Sickfic, Sickness via toxic air, Someone almost dies, Vomiting, no beta we die like men, only mentioned tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:40:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29348295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/So_u_like_pkmn/pseuds/So_u_like_pkmn
Summary: “Yes, Master,” Ahsoka rolled her eyes, looking every bit like a disgruntled teenager at a parent’s fussing. “I’ll be fine.”Anakin let out a breath. “I’m just worried, Snips. I don’t like this mission.”“I know, Master,” She sent reassurance over their bond. “But I’ll be okay, I have you and the men watching my back.”
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 18
Kudos: 109





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Slow Death of Commander Ahsoka Tano](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28905825) by [abc123z](https://archiveofourown.org/users/abc123z/pseuds/abc123z). 



> Despite having the biggest Writer's Block in my life and unable to finish any draft that I start, I somehow managed to write this little story. I'm new to the Clone Wars fandom since Errant convinced me to watch it a few months ago, but I utterly fell in love with the show and I hope to write more for it in the future! For now, please enjoy.
> 
> This story was inspired by "The Slow Death of Commander Tano" by abc123z. Please check out their story it gave me emotion.

Ahsoka grimaced down at the planet they were getting closer and closer to.  _ Ildal  _ was a beautiful planet, full of greens and light blues. It was mostly forest and lakes of varying sizes, full of strange creatures and what the Republic considered  _ “primitive” _ inhabitants. Despite the beauty of it, she wanted to be anywhere else besides on the surface of that planet. Considering  _ Ildal’s _ atmosphere is toxic to Togruta and Twi’leks. 

She could breath in the air just fine, but after a while she’ll start to fall ill and eventually it leads to death by organ failure.

“Make sure your mask is secure, Snips,” Anakin kneeled down, gently grabbing her chin and tilting her head to look over the mask that completely covered her face. 

“I’m fine, Skyguy,” She swatted his other hand, which was checking the tightness of the straps that wrapped over her montrals and connected under her back headtail. “Kix  _ and  _ Rex have already checked and made sure.”

“And Kix has the spare filter mask?” 

“ _ Yes _ , Master,” Ahsoka rolled her eyes, looking every bit like a disgruntled teenager at a parent’s fussing. “I’ll be fine.”

Anakin let out a breath. “I’m just worried, Snips. I don’t like this mission.”

“I know, Master,” She sent reassurance over their bond. “But I’ll be okay, I have you and the men watching my back.”

“Damn right!” Fives yelled from his seat. Rex gave a disapproving look at him revealing their eavesdropping in the pod.

Their mission wasn’t a full frontal assault. They were to infiltrate the Sepratist lab in the deep jungle of  _ Ildal  _ while Obi-Wan attacked the Sepratist fortress. They had to land far enough away that it would be a few days trek through the forest to get to the lab, so the Sepratist inside didn’t see their ship and evacuate. What was being researched in the lab was unknown, but the Council made it very clear that it was very important for them to secure that research.

So their team was small. Anakin and Ahsoka as the Jedi part of the team with Rex, Kix, Jesse, and Fives as their clone team. Kix was mostly there to keep an eye on Ahsoka in case she were to accidentally inhale the air.

All it took was one breath. One tiny, little inhale. And Anakin’s padawan would be a ticking time clock, the invisible numbers marking her death.

Ahsoka, sensing his thoughts, gave their bond an annoyed flick.

There was a loud boom and the pod violently leaned to the right.

“Brace yourselves, we’ve been spotted!”

* * *

Anakin woke up slumped in his chair, the seatbelts that Ahsoka pestered him to wear this time having stayed intact in the crash.

Remembering where he was and the mission he was on, Anakin fumbled with the clip of his harness and frantically looked around for his padawan. 

Ahsoka’s harness had snapped during the crash and she had been tossed out of her seat, she was groaning from under the control panel. Where she had been thrown once they hit the surface.

“Ahsoka!” Anakin kneeled down and carefully pulled her out, quickly checking her mask.

It, thank the Force, seemed undamaged. The filter was still working and there were no cracks in the face shield. He fiddled with the straps and found them slightly loose, but not enough to dislodge the mask.

Ahsoka gave a low groan in the back of her throat as he tightened the straps. She blinked up at him before her eyes widened and she jerked her hand up to touch her mask.

“It seems alright, Snips,” Anakin placed a hand on her shoulder, sending calm to her. “How do you feel? Does the air smell different?”

“No, no, I think it’s fine,” The padawan sighed, slouching forward. “We gotta check on the men.”

* * *

No one died during the crash, they had all somehow managed to get out of the situation with only some bumps and bruises. The trooper’s armor absorbed most of the impact and the Force allowed the Jedi a very small break. 

“Alright, we have a two day trek to the lab and then we will make our way to Obi-Wan’s position,” Anakin handed his padawan a pack.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, grumbling about  _ lazy Masters _ , but compliantly swinging the pack onto her shoulders and tightening the straps so it was secure. 

“Let’s head out.”

“Onward, men,” Rex commanded the other troopers, all of them falling close behind the Jedi.

The jungle was thick. Vine, roots, and branches blocked almost every inch of their path.

This...was going to be a struggle.

* * *

Squinting through the thick foliage of the trees, Ahsoka nudged Anakin through the bond to remind him that it was getting dark.

Anakin blinked up at the blurry image of the setting sun. “Time to set up camp, men and padawan.”

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, but swung the pack off her back as did the other men. 

They set up camp, nothing too big. Bedrolls, ration packs, survival kits, and med kits.

Ahsoka laid on her back on her assigned bedroll, trying to see the stars through the leaves. 

Everyone else settled around her besides Rex, himself having first watch in the night. He sat atop of a rock a few feet away, head turning slowly as he scanned and memorized that area.

The padawan let out a breath, a slight fog briefly appearing on the bottom of her mask. She shifted to her side, her preferred sleeping position after laying on her stomach. Curling up with her hand under her cheek. Slight irritation spiked though her as she immediately became uncomfortable with the mask digging into her hand.

Great. She couldn’t wait to get off this stupid planet and get this  _ stupid  _ mask off.

Curling her arms against her chest, Ahsoka let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. Falling into an uncomfortable sleep.

* * *

Taking over the lab was easy...well, as easy as it can get with a Skywalker with them.

“Download the information, Snips,” Anakin ordered, waving Kix and Fives to stay with her as he led the other two troopers out of the control room. “I’m going to hunt down the last of the droids and make sure they don’t get a distress signal out.”

“Alright, Master,” Ahsoka immediately went to the console, starting the downloading process. She slipped a data chip out of her pouch and inserted it into the computer.

She scanned the information as it appeared on the screen. Tests on the plants and atmosphere of  _ Ildal _ , trying to figure out what made it so toxic to certain alien species. Experiments on whether or not with some manipulation if it could become toxic to other species.

“Master,” Ahsoka activated her comm-link. “In hall Three-A there is a room full of samples of the experiments they were developing here. Think you and the boys could grab a few samples?”

_ “I’ll send Rex and Jesse to collect them,”  _ Anakin responded. There was a droid scream and a  _ ‘It's a Jedi!’  _ in the background. 

Fives snorted from his position at the door, earning an amused glance from Ahsoka. There was a beep as the information finished downloading, she took out the data chip and slipped it into the pouch on her belt. 

There was a loud thud in the ceiling above them, causing them all to tense in preparation. 

Ahsoka grabbed her lightsabers, activating them as she slowly crept towards the vent panel. Kix and Fives moving to the sides as the noise got louder.

A little droid fell out of the vent, it immediately leapt at Ahsoka, something sharp in its hands aimed at her.

It never got the chance to leap too far off the floor, Fives shot it as its feet left the ground. The droid cried out as it fell to the ground and deactivated, the object falling out of its hand and rolling on the floor.

Deactivating her sabers, Ahsoka kneeled down and picked up the syringe.

It was filled with an orange liquid and the word  _ Togruta  _ was written on the side.

Humming she handed it to Kix. “You can look at it when we get to the  _ Resolute  _ if you like.”

“Yes, sir,” The medic pocketed the syringe. 

“Let’s go find Anakin, this place gives me the creeps.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back~
> 
> Y'all know deep in your souls what's going to happen in this chapter.

They knew that there was a primitive life on  _ Ildal _ , having been briefed on the inhabitants and how they lived.

They lived in tribes and didn’t have any known technology. When the Separatists showed up there were known attacks on the fortress and lab before the inhabitants seemingly retreated deeper into the jungle.

Obi-Wan warned them to be cautious, while they haven’t had trouble with the inhabitants doesn’t mean Anakin and Ahsoka’s team wouldn’t be walking directly into wherever they were hiding. 

It was briefly considered that the inhabitants would find them. Which is exactly what happened.

“Master, please don’t make them even angrier,” Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

“It wasn’t exactly my intention, Snips,” Anakin gave her an annoyed look before a wooden spear embedded itself into the tree he was hiding behind. 

“Well, you’re doing a good job of it, Skyguy.”

There was a cry as one of the trooper’s stun bolts hit one of the inhabitants. 

“All I said was ‘Hello there’,” He huffed.

“You first mistake was saying that and not being Master Kenobi,” Ahsoka gave a playful smirk, glancing around the tree.

The inhabitants blended into the trees quite well, their clothes must have been fashioned to do so. To blend in with the scenery and blend in on hunts, the added stealth making it hard to see where the inhabitants were attacking from.

She tilted her head, lightly pressing the tip of a montral against the tree she was using as cover.

Her montrals vibrated and she furrowed her eyebrows.

_ Someone is in the tree above me. _

Anakin glanced up before looking at her.

_ Be careful, Snips. _

She nodded and slipped her pack off her shoulders and onto the ground before jumping up, latching onto the tree branch above her. Ahsoka continued to climb up, doing her best to be as quiet as possible. 

Her eyes spotted a form in between the branches and leaves, a spear pulled back as they prepared to throw it at the trooper in their sights.

The marking on the armor quickly informed her that the trooper was Rex. 

Ahsoka pounced, there was a cry as she tackled the inhabitant off the branch. They traded blows before they both slammed into the ground. Moments before impact the inhabitant punched at her face, hitting the face mask with a loud crack. 

While the inhabitant slammed into the ground, Ahsoka managed to maneuver herself into a roll. Crouching, she was prepared as the inhabitant leapt at her.

They snarled at each other, punching and clawing before she managed to pin the inhabitant down and land a hard enough punch to knock them out.

Ahsoka panted as she stood up, eye widening when she saw the gaping hole in her mask.

“Master!”

Anakin immediately turned towards her, eyes widening as he noticed her mask.

“Kix! Get Ahsoka’s spare mask!  _ Now _ !” 

The trooper made his way over to her as Ahsoka pulled off her broken mask, holding her breath even though she knew it was too late.

Kix held the mask up to her face, activating the filter as she worked on the straps. 

“Did you breathe in any of the air, Commander?” 

“Yes,” Ahsoka sighed, resisting the urge to lift up her hand and wipe at her face. “The inhabitant broke it while we fell out of the tree.”

Kix cursed. “We have seventy-two hours before you die of organ failure. We have to get to General Kenobi before then.”

“Kix, it’s a four day trek to Master Kenobi’s position,” The padawan softly reminded him.

The medic let out a sigh, his helmet hiding his face but she could sense his complex emotions.

“Ahsoka!” They looked up as Anakin ran over, the other three troopers close behind, scanning the area in case the inhabitants came back for round two. He gripped both her shoulders, looking into her eyes. “Did you breathe in the air?”

The padawan gave a downtrodden nod, eyes on the ground.

Huttese curses came from her Master’s mouth as he gripped her shoulders tighter, but not painfully.

“We have to get to Obi-Wan’s position soon. How long until…”

“Seventy-two hours, General,” Kix responded.

“Plenty of time, Snips,” Anakin gave her a tense smile.

“Master...it’s a four day trek to Master Kenobi, you know that,” Ahsoka softly reminded him.

“I’m not going to let you die, Ahsoka,” He told her softly, she could sense his anger though. 

Anger at the Council putting them in this position, at the inhabitant that broke her mask, and at the very planet for being toxic to her.

“Let’s get moving, men! No more breaks from here on out.”

* * *

It was only a few hours before Ahsoka decided to just take off her mask.

_ “I don’t want to cough in my mask, Skyguy.” _

A few minutes after that she started to look pale, her markings becoming less prominent. Her breathing became a little more strained, audible wheezing the longer they went on. 

Anakin only stopped them for the night when it became hard for them to see the forest in front of them. 

“Alright, we’ll rest here for the night.”

Ahsoka slowly pressed herself to her Master’s side, Fives had already wrestled the pack off of her when she started slowing down during the walk.

Anakin carefully lowered her onto her bedroll, sitting next to her when Ahsoka didn’t release her grip on his robes. 

“Hey, Snips,” He gently rubbed her forehead, feeling her rising temperature. He frowned as she only hummed in response, eyes closed as she snuggled into his side.

“She needs to eat and drink, General,” Kix crouched at his otherside, a ration bar and canteen in his hands. 

Anakin nodded, taking the food and water. He gently nudged Ahsoka until she opened her eyes.

“Hey, Snips. You hungry?” He placed the ration bar in her hand.

The padawan eyed the food. “I’m not hungry…”

“I need you to eat it, Ahsoka. You have to keep your energy up.”

She looked up at him with wide, pleading eyes. The kicked puppy look that normally got her whatever she wanted from the clones, Obi-Wan, and even himself. But Anakin didn’t budge on this. 

With a sigh, Ahsoka reluctantly peeled open the bar and ate it slowly. She only finished it with Anakin coaching her. 

“Just one more bite, Ahsoka.”

Ahsoka snuggled back up to her Master’s side, curling into herself. Anakin held the canteen up to her lips, managing to get a few sip before she turned away.

He gently lowered her on her bedroll, gently rubbing the dip between her montrals and waved Kix over when her breathing evened out.

“She has a fever,” The medic started as he scanned his Commander with a medical scanner. “Slight nausea, lethargic, trouble breathing…”

“And it’s just the start,” Anakin sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya know when I type this into my docs my paragraphs look like actual paragraphs, but then I copy and paste it into AO3 and now it looks like just sentences and I think the website is just trying to spite me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here we are my guys, the last chapter. It was a short run but a good one :)

Rex looked up from cleaning the outside of one of his blasters as Ahsoka suddenly sat up, a hand over her mouth, and she crawled over to a nearby bush before throwing up the megar food in her stomach.

“Hey, Little ‘un,” Rex kneeled beside her, gently rubbing her back as she started dry heaving. Her shoulders shook with her choked sobs. “It’s okay,  _ vod’ika _ . We got you, you’re going to be fine.”

Ahsoka flipped over and leaned against Rex’s side, eyes closed as she tried to even out her breathing.

“‘Orry you have to see me like this, Rexter,” Her voice was hoarse as she looked up at him.

“I don’t think any less of you, Commander,” The Captain tucked her under his arm, he leaned back slightly to grab her canteen. Opening it he held it up to her lips.

Ahsoka took a few sips before turning away and resting her head against his chest, a montral over where his heart is. She gave a sigh as she slumped against him. 

Rex rubbed a hand up and down her arm, hoping it provided comfort as he stared out into the forest.

* * *

Ahsoka mumbled against Anakin’s shoulder as he took a moment to shift her to a more comfortable position on his back. Her arms looped loosely around his neck, the bottom half of her face pressed against his shoulder.

“‘Kyguy?”

“Yeah, Snips?” He hummed, carefully stepping over a decent sized root. 

“I think the hallucinations are starting,” Her eyes flicked over to something in the forest before focusing back on Rex’s back, the Captain leading their path since Anakin took to carrying his padawan.

“Oh? What are you seeing?” He asked, both curious and wanting to keep her distracted. 

“I saw Obi-Wan drinking tea, wearing purple robes instead of white,” Anakin gave a snort, chuckling at the mental image his padawan gave him. “Master Plo and Padmé and at one point I saw the False Jedi.”

“The False Jedi?” the Master asked, thinking she was talking about the youngling story in the Temple.

Ahsoka hummed, nodding. “Master Plo saved me from the False Jedi, did I tell you that story?”

Rex glanced back at them, the Jedi sensed his confusion and concern at what the padawan was saying.

“No, I don’t think you’ve told me that story, Snips. But I’d like to hear it.”

“When I was three, in my Tribe on Shili, my mom saw me make my doll float. So she took me to the Elder and he told her I was blessed with the ability to use the Force by Mother Shili, and that the Jedi will come to take me away and that I will be a great source of pride for the Tribe and my family name.”

Anakin nodded for her to continue. Of course Ahsoka is a source of pride, she makes him proud every day.

He should tell her that more.

“The Elder sent a beacon to the Jedi Temple to make the Council aware of me, but it was intercepted by a slaver.”

Behind them, Kix and Fives exchanged looks. Anger built up in Anakin at the thought of a slaver having their filthy hands on his young padawan.

“The Force manifested in me by allowing me to sense the intentions and emotions of others. So when the slaver came, dressed in Jedi robes and claiming he came to take me to the Temple, I threw a fit. Kept screaming and crying  _ “Not a jedi! nehl lies! dunga khos'a! nehl lie, nehl lie!”  _ Not a Jedi, he lies, bad man, he lie, he lie.” 

Ahsoka didn’t speak Togruti often, mostly to slip in a swear under his nose or that one night she forgot the Basic word for  _ ‘noodles’  _ and used three different languages to try and describe it to Anakin before Rex figured it out. 

Anakin will make sure they had more heartwarming moments like that, whatever it takes.

“My Tribe was appalled, they thought I was shaming them by refusing to go with the False Jedi.  _ “Ahsoka, why do yeh shame us? Why do yeh bring us shame ek refusing det jedi? Ahsoka, yeh must ge unt det jedi.”  _ My mom tried to tell them what I felt, but my Tribe didn’t understand and forced me to go with the False Jedi.”

There was a low growl from in front of them, Rex’s shoulders were tense but otherwise he didn’t visibly react. Anakin himself wanted to find Ahsoka’s tribe and give them a piece of his mind, but Ahsoka had to get better and they needed to get off this planet first.

Ahsoka lifted her face up, resting her chin on his shoulder. “I don’t remember much about my short time with the slaver, he drugged me and locked me in a small cage. I remember my arms and headtails hurting ‘cause they were pressed against the bars but I didn’t have enough room to move. Master Plo showed up seconds after the slaver left and explained that he was a real Jedi there to take me to the Temple.” She closed her eyes, tilting her head so her montral was resting against the side of her Master’s head. “Master Plo rescued me, of course. He brought me back to my Tribe so they knew I was okay before we left for the Temple.”

“Did they ever apologise? Your Tribe?” Fives asked, his voice laced with anger.

The padawan hummed. “When I was twelve, Master Shaak Ti took me back to my Tribe so I could participate in the tradition of hunting an Akul, the path of a hunter. When a young Togruta feels ready, they are sent out alone to hunt an Akul. If they kill one by themselves it is a sign of strength, that one is destined to fight and protect. The teeth are made into a headdress or any preferred jewelry.” She unlooped an arm from around Anakin’s neck to point at her headdress. “Before I left on my hunt, the Elder came up to me and said their greatest mistake was not listening to the Child of Shili blessed with the Force. They apologised and asked for my forgiveness. I told them that I forgave them a long time ago.”

Ahsoka looped her arm back around her Master’s neck, her breathing soon evened out as she fell asleep. Anakin shifted his hold so she wouldn’t slip off his back while she slept.

* * *

That night Ahsoka could only eat half a ration bar before she threw it back up a few minutes later. She managed a few sips of water before falling into a nightmare filled sleep. 

Anakin pulled his padawan into his lap, cradling her in his arms as he constantly checked to see if she was breathing. 

He didn’t sleep that night, afraid that if he fell asleep Ahsoka would stop breathing and he would be too late to save her. 

* * *

Ahsoka was limp in Rex’s arms, if he wasn’t constantly making sure she was breathing then he would have thought he was carrying a corpse. 

She was so, so pale, looking a little less orange. Her headtails were more gray then white, if one wasn’t looking close enough they would miss the dull blue of her chevrons.

It made Rex’s heart twist and his eyes water over, seeing his  _ vod’ika  _ in such a state. He wanted to punch a tree, to yell, to scream and cry. Wanted to curse whoever decided to make her suffer like this.

But that wouldn’t help Ahsoka. He had to make sure she made it to Obi-Wan’s position and make sure she got off this planet so he could hear her tell the men how much it sucked. That if the 501st was ever sent back to  _ Ildal  _ she would be going on a meditative retreat to Naboo. And hear her laugh with the men as Hardcase gave a  _ “We know you wouldn’t leave us high and dry, Commander!” _

He would do anything to make it so she got back to the men okay.

* * *

Next time Ahsoka woke up, she was in a medical bed with a ventilator on her face, an IV in her arm and a heart monitor beeping next to her.

She groaned, lifting her hand towards her face but a hand gently grabbed it to stop her from dislodging her ventilator.

“I wouldn’t do that, my dear. You are still healing.”

Ahsoka blinked so Obi-Wan didn’t look so blurry. “Hey, Master Kenobi. Where’s Anakin?”

The master gave a nod to his left, Anakin was asleep in one of the uncomfortable medbay chairs. His arms crossed and his chin resting against his chest. 

She gave a smile. “How about the men that were with us?”

“Kix led your care and only took a step back when it was sure that you would make a full recovery,” Obi-Wan began to stroke his beard as he spoke. “The Captain, Jesse, and Fives are resting, they visited after the medics assured us you would be fine. Your organs were hanging on by the time you all made it here, the Force was with you for this one, my dear.”

Ahsoka gave a relieved sigh that everyone was okay, she sunk into the pillow and reached a hand out.

A soft smile came across Obi-Wan’s face as he accepted the invitation, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. 

“I can’t wait to get off this stupid planet,” She told him.

Obi-Wan let out an amused huff. “That, we can agree on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If y'all recognize the False Jedi story from the Ahsoka novel props to you ig lol. I loved it, instantly became one of my top five favorites and it's still canon in my HEART

**Author's Note:**

> Everything is fine :).


End file.
